tongues wag

Idioms  

1. People are gossiping. For example, Tongues wagged when another police car was parked in front of their house, or Their arrival in a stretch limousine set the neighbors' tongues wagging. This metaphoric expression transfers the rapid movement of the tongue to idle or indiscreet chatter. [Late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tongues wag

In Bhutan, chilis aren’t just a spicy ingredient that makes eyes water and tongues wag.

From Salon ● Jan. 15, 2026

Though there are many, many reasons she might have avoided marriage, her staunch refusal made tongues wag, even centuries later.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2021

It was for other distracting reasons that the selection made tongues wag — at least among those who spend their Sunday evenings watching CBS’s “The Good Wife.”

From Washington Post ● Jan. 21, 2015

While his neighbors' tongues wag and his family's hearts sink, he squires the unsuspecting young lady to carnivals and Chinese restaurants, strains his eyes going without glasses, sprains his tack showing off as a wrestler.

From Time Magazine Archive

Now or never must he snatch her from difficulty and disgrace—let hostile tongues wag as they pleased—and make her his.

From The Marriage of William Ashe by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.